All homes in Biddenham will be receiving this week a leaflet from the Chairman of the Parish Council giving important information about housing development at Gold Lane.

There is an imminent planning application for hundreds of houses west of Gold Lane. The Parish Council hopes villagers will help it oppose this application, once it’s made, the consequences for the village were houses to be built there being set out in the leaflet.

The leaflet goes on to explain how you can help.  The land in question is currently protected as green belt, but the Borough Council are publishing a housing and development plan which seeks to dilute that protection. The plan (the Bedford Local Plan 2035) is for the whole of the Borough  but includes the land west of Gold Lane in what is called Policy 19 (the content of which and the associated site plan are set out in the leaflet).

The public will be asked to give feedback in a consultation period starting later this month and ending on 5 March. It’ll be vital that if you don’t wish to see housing west of Gold Lane you write to the Borough objecting to this policy.

The Parish Council is asking villagers please to object to Policy 19. As the leaflet explains, if the Policy is not vigorously opposed it will make the developers’ planning application easier. If it gets rejected it may well prevent the development.

The Parish Council will be sending shortly a second leaflet to every home explaining in detail what to do once the period for public consultation on the Borough Council’s plan opens later in January.